Wild Pictures, Defiant Pictures, Alliance Cinema,

Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Lange, Demi Moore, Judd Hirsch, Santiago Segura, Howard Hesseman

Eva (Shirley MacLaine) is a widowed retired school teacher who is looking for a $50,000 check from the insurance company to pay out her husband’s life insurance. She’s a bit taken aback when a check for $5,000.000.00 arrives instead. She wants to return it but once her best friend Maddie (Jessica Lange) finds out about it, she talks her into depositing the check and heading out of a vacation to Spain. Of course the insurance company is embarrassed to learn about the mistake and send out soon to retire insurance investigator, Vespucci (Howard Hesseman) out to try to recover the money. He teams up with Eva’s uptight daughter Crystal (Demi Moore) to try to round her up, but before long, everyone is out after them while they enjoy the sun and a couple new love interests.

This is a rather clever comedy that is pretty funny. Younger folks may have a problem with this movie as they won’t get the humor that is definitely aimed at senior citizens, but the truth is that the jokes are pretty funny. This is like the male version of the story, 2013’s “Last Vegas” with Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas, Kevin Kline, and Morgan Freeman. Shirley MacLaine is really funny in this role, and is well suited for this movie! Jessica Lange is a bit young for the role, or appears to be, and she is not quite as good as Shirley, but holds her own. Billy Connolly has a small role as Eva’s love interest which is really funny. He even cracked up Shirley to the point where they had to stop filming for 11 minutes while she laughed and laughed. One of the jewels in this film is the annoying uptight daughter Crystal played joyfully by Demi Moore. The character is so different than her real personality, so it’s a riot watching her strut through this role. All in all it was a pleasure to see this, and I was pleasantly surprised by how funny I found it. Don’t expect the young folks to get this, but they ought to see it too to learn how us old folks enjoy ourselves once in a while! Good little movie!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Stereo D, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation,

Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, Judd Hirsch, Angelababy, Joey King, Vivica A. Fox, Brent Spiner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, William Fichtner, Deobia Oparei, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Patrick St. Esprit

Twenty years have passed since the original battle for freedom from the aliens was fought. There is a new lady president (to show it’s fiction) and the original President Whitmore is much the worse for wear, but his daughter has grown and is now an emissary to the white house. Captain Hiller is long gone, but his son, Dylan (Jesse T Usher) is a crack pilot and ready to step in to his fathers shoes to fight off the aliens once again who have come back, this time more than double the size of the last time. This time Earth has no chance, but they are going to give it their best shot. They have been improving over the last 20 years, but have they done enough?

This is a big budget blockbuster summer film that falls a little short. There is no way to match the scope of the first one, which caught us all by surprise. They did a really good job of bringing back the major characters and it’s easy to age them 20 years, since the original was released in 1996, 20 years ago! The story is done very well, and the characters are good. Furthermore, the special effects are extremely well done. The battle scenes are awesome, and I was totally entertained throughout the entire film. It’s a very well done movie, and very worthwhile to watch. So why the bad press, and the less than stellar box office? Well, there is no choice but to compare this to the experience 20 years ago of the original, and that’s a no win situation. If you were to watch these back to back now, it would become very clear how well done the new one is, and how the old one is 20 years old, but this is not a remake, it’s a sequel. A long after 20 years in the making sequel. I think they did an excellent job as well, and if this was a brand new story, It’s probably five stars, but you can’t help but compare the feeling you had coming out of the first one, completely exhausted and blown away, and the way you come out of this one thinking, “It’s not as good as the first one”. I probably is better, but can never be seen that way. It’s just a fact of human nature that the awe and wonder of the first one can’t be recreated. But I am glad to know what happened to this alien bunch and can’t help hoping they get what’s coming to them. Just don’t let the naysayers get to you, and go see it while you can.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Relativity Media

Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Michael PeƱa, Tea Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, Alan Alda, Judd Hirsch, Nina Arianda

Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) is the manager of a posh Central Park building called “The Tower”. It is ritzy and he keeps everything running smoothly from the dog walkers to the doormen, to the cleaning ladies, to the elevator operators and everyone in between. He has a special client living in the penthouse on the top floor, a stock market mogul named Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda). Shaw is a market wizard, so Josh decides to invest the workers entire pension fund with him with the promise to triple it in a year. Needless to say, the workers aren’t too happy when the FBI shows up with a warrant for Mr. Shaw as he is major swindler and took all the money. The money that he owes the banks is enormous compared to the pittance that belongs to the Tower employees, but Josh decides that the expertise that they have makes it possible for them to break into Mr. Shaw’s apartment while he’s out to court and get their money back. He calls together a few friends, including petty thief Slide (Eddie Murphy).

Tower Heist is a pretty funny film. It’s not going to be hugely popular because it’s just not going to appeal to everyone, but the story is rather clever. Not as cerebral as Ocean’s Eleven, but it’s the same type of story in a way. But we get a really good look into the service people who provide the very rich with every indulgence possible. It’s also a chance to root for the underdogs against the evil doers. It’s got a lot of decent comedy and a lot of action, chases, and double crosses. All in all the cast seemed to have a great time with this film.

All that being said, it’s not perfect. It’s not near as funny as Meet the Parents, or nearly as clever as Night in the Museum, but for a simple little comedy, it fills the bill. It’s not Ben Stiller’s best work, but it’s nice to see Eddie Murphy being Eddie Murphy again. He’s still got it.

Maybe it’s worthwhile to hold off on this one until it hits DVD, but as I said upfront, I enjoyed it. It was a great escape for a while, and a lot of fun. I can identify with these guys!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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